Sweet Summertime: highlight reel from the season + upcoming gigs

First of all, I apologize for my absence. Talk about going from constantly posting updates in the spring to complete radio silence—oops! The summertime has been a busy season, with many fabulous gigs and events that I’ve played (again, sorry for not posting about them—I promise the intention was there, just not the execution)! BTW: Instagram really is the best way to stay up-to-date with me.

Here’s a look of some of my favorite highlights from the last few months:

May made my heart so full! One of the crowning jewels of this summer was the Buffalo Mountain Brewery gig on May 16th. I had a colorful cast of rotating members, including Dad, Sis, and our dear friend Dave Owen on bass. [Edit: how could I forget Justin? He lent his twinkle fingers for the ivory keys of course] Not only did I get to share the stage with some of my favorite people, but my parents got half of Floyd to attend (no joke, though in a town with a population of 500 that’s easier to do than you think)—and there’s nothing quite like playing music to a sea of familiar faces in a place you love!

I played Harry’s at Hof for the first time on May 20th. It was a hot one, so they moved me inside to the restaurant portion & the evening ended up being wonderful. I loved the vibe & atmosphere so much, I decided I needed to do it again. Last Friday, I was invited back to set up on the rooftop (I SWEAR I wanted to tell you guys) and the weather was divine. I will be back for another soon—calendar dates at the end of this post!

A few weekends ago I found myself spontaneously driving to Floyd for a handful of days for Dayfest, a family friend’s mini music festival that they host in their home. This was their 20th year! We kicked off strong on Friday night—where I met 98% of the festgoers for the first time—with a good ol’ fashioned jam session. Saturday the event lasted probably 6+ hours (no kidding), with a surprise set by yours truly!! Not 20 minutes after getting to the Day’s home, my new friend (hi, James!) who was running sound and organizing the musicians came up to me and said, “Alright, you want to go next? In like 15 minutes?” After scraping my jaw off the floor for the next 30 seconds, I mustered a “but I don’t have my guitar!” to which James, who was having absolutely no excuses, replied sarcastically: “oh, there’s only, what, 12 guitars at your disposal here!” OKAY OKAY, I love me a spontaneous moment in the spotlight (I am ME after all), but why was I NERVOUS? I played a short set of 4 songs, but I loved every moment of it & felt SO HONORED to have made the lineup for the event. The rest of the night was chock-full of music, food, drinks, new friends, and incredible views of the Blue Ridge Mountains—is this heaven?? A beautiful evening, and the weekend wasn’t even over yet!

Sunday afternoon we went to Villa Appalachia where the same James (yay talented new friends!) was providing the live entertainment. Now on Sunday I came prepared with my guitar, knowing that James does not take no for an answer. I played a few more songs & a few originals to a very attentive (and somewhat hungover) fest crowd, and James ended his set by inviting up a few other musicians (including moi) for some harmonizing and more fun songs! It was truly so special. By the end of the weekend, I’d earned a return invite for next year’s Dayfest. Check out the incredible talents of my new friends James Adkins, Nikki Forgione, and Kim Buchanan!

I’ve also played quite a few gigs with Justin for our Same Side Sitters duo. I don’t know how we decide to do these on the HOTTEST days of the summer, but the thought of sitting poolside with a cold one in hand as a reward usually gets us through our 3 hour sets. We have more Same Side Sitter sets (say that three times fast) on the books, so keep scrolling to save the dates.

Here are a few more places you can catch me this summer:

Bottom’s Up is starting a new music series event & I get to kick things off this Friday, July 31st from 5:30 pm to 8 pm! We’re trying to get lots of people out for this (so we can show the Bottom’s Up folks is worth it to keep a good thing going) so come out for a slice of za and enjoy some tunes on the deck!

You have plenty of opportunities for a Same Side Sitters set (again with the tongue twister): first we play River City Roll on Thursday, August 6th from 7 to 9 pm, then we’re grooving back on the Hardywood RVA stage for a Sunday afternoon on August 16th from 2 to 4:30 pm. Lastly we’re back at Hardywood West Creek from 1 to 3:30 pm on Saturday, September 12th.

You can also see me, as well as a rotating roundup of Richmond’s finest songwriters, at the Virago’s Songwriter Open Mic every Wednesday. I host every other week—my next one is August 5th.

Lastly—you guessed it—I’ll be back on the rooftop of Harry’s at Hof (yay!) for another sunset gig from 7 to 9 pm on Thursday, September 3rd! I’ll be praying for no rain, and I hope to get some folks out for this (mostly so they keep inviting me back)! Make a reservation or just stop by, grab a drink, and stay for a few songs!

In other music news, I was fortunate enough to inherit my dad’s 1961 Höfner guitar!! The instrument (she’s a beaut!) was already in excellent condition, but was having some electrical malfunctions. But fear not! A quick shout out to Stu at Fan Guitar and Ukulele for getting this electric guitar back in her true electric condition—which means you may peep me playing her at some of these upcoming gigs! (I’m going to pick her up right after I hit the post button!)

I hope you’re having a summertime as sweet as I am, & hope to see some familiar faces soon!